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A Crash of Rhinoceroses
Feb. 1st, 2006 09:21 pmEveryone in Alberta got $400 rebate cheques from the government, courtesy of our premier, Mr. Ralph Klein, who makes himself popular by such means. With oil prices the way they are, the province gets lots of surplus money. I'm not a Klein fan myself, but I base this mostly on the fact that most of my friends don't like him for what I presume are valid reasons. And he's a Tory too. But anyway.
Since the cheques showed up on the 30th, it seemed easy and convenient just to wait for the end-of-month paycheque the next day and deposit them both together. Or so it seemed until I got to the bank at 5:00.
Since many people get paid on Fridays, in addition to those who get paid at month-end, it's usually not too insane at the bank at the end of the month unless it's also a Friday. So I wasn't expecting a big lineup. The drive-thru lane(drive-through instant tellers still seem weird to me, and I've never gotten up the nerve to try one, especially for deposits)was quite full, and the parking lot was almost, but I found a spot at the back.
There was a big lineup in the ATM vestibule(or is it an atrium?), and I quickly saw why. Out of the four machines normally available, only one of them was being used. Two of them had "not available" messages on their screens, but the other unused one didn't. I examined it carefully as the line crawled closer, but couldn't see why it wasn't in use. Eventually someone ahead of me tried it, and confirmed that it was not accepting deposits. So those of us with cheques kept creeping toward the one machine, while the occasional person who came in just wanting cash or perhaps bankbook pages could go to the other one.
There were many grumbles about the cockup of having only one machine available on payday, and when some of the bank staff came out after late meetings they said it wasn't their fault--it was the security company's. Apparently Brinks has to show up and fill the machines with money and remove the deposit envelopes. The machine that wasn't accepting deposits probably still had money but didn't have any space for more deposit envelopes. I suppose it's a good idea for the machine to be able to sense such things, but it showed poor organization on the bank's part, or the security company's. I'm still not sure whose fault it really is.
After twenty minutes(I wished I'd brought my book in with me, but I was damned if I was going to give up my place in line to go get it), I finally got to the machine. I of course had an envelope all ready with my cheques in it. I went to put my card in the slot, and it wouldn't go in. I tried it again--nothing. I turned it around--sometimes I misread the diagrams--and tried again. Nothing. Finally, fed up and frankly furious, I left the bank with a snarl and went home.
Nicole ended up going back to the bank later in the evening, because we didn't want to risk not having enough money for when the mortgage payment came out today. But it's enough to make one consider switching banks, isn't it?
Since the cheques showed up on the 30th, it seemed easy and convenient just to wait for the end-of-month paycheque the next day and deposit them both together. Or so it seemed until I got to the bank at 5:00.
Since many people get paid on Fridays, in addition to those who get paid at month-end, it's usually not too insane at the bank at the end of the month unless it's also a Friday. So I wasn't expecting a big lineup. The drive-thru lane(drive-through instant tellers still seem weird to me, and I've never gotten up the nerve to try one, especially for deposits)was quite full, and the parking lot was almost, but I found a spot at the back.
There was a big lineup in the ATM vestibule(or is it an atrium?), and I quickly saw why. Out of the four machines normally available, only one of them was being used. Two of them had "not available" messages on their screens, but the other unused one didn't. I examined it carefully as the line crawled closer, but couldn't see why it wasn't in use. Eventually someone ahead of me tried it, and confirmed that it was not accepting deposits. So those of us with cheques kept creeping toward the one machine, while the occasional person who came in just wanting cash or perhaps bankbook pages could go to the other one.
There were many grumbles about the cockup of having only one machine available on payday, and when some of the bank staff came out after late meetings they said it wasn't their fault--it was the security company's. Apparently Brinks has to show up and fill the machines with money and remove the deposit envelopes. The machine that wasn't accepting deposits probably still had money but didn't have any space for more deposit envelopes. I suppose it's a good idea for the machine to be able to sense such things, but it showed poor organization on the bank's part, or the security company's. I'm still not sure whose fault it really is.
After twenty minutes(I wished I'd brought my book in with me, but I was damned if I was going to give up my place in line to go get it), I finally got to the machine. I of course had an envelope all ready with my cheques in it. I went to put my card in the slot, and it wouldn't go in. I tried it again--nothing. I turned it around--sometimes I misread the diagrams--and tried again. Nothing. Finally, fed up and frankly furious, I left the bank with a snarl and went home.
Nicole ended up going back to the bank later in the evening, because we didn't want to risk not having enough money for when the mortgage payment came out today. But it's enough to make one consider switching banks, isn't it?
